The hollow tree
by Ravenclaw.princess15
Summary: When Hermione meets a young ginger boy in the woods one day, everything changes. Follow Hermione and Fred's story as they grow up together. (Rubbish summary, read it to find out!;D)
1. Chapter 1

Chapter one. Hermione's POV.

I was so stupid. I didn't mean to argue with my mum all the time, but she's never understood me. All I ever wanted was to fit in, is that too much to ask? Ever since I was a young girl I've been bullied for being different. Whether it's teasing about my hair, which is, I'll admit, rather… large, or teasing about how intelligent I am, or about things that happen. I don't even understand what happens. Sometimes when I get angry or or upset, objects break, or move. Sometimes when I'm really scared things will disappear.

That's what makes her so angry. She hates it when I do things out of the ordinary. It's not as if I mean to, but it makes her angry all the same.

I remember the first time it happened, a summer day when we were at the beach, when I was about 5. I went with my mum to get ice cream. My mum told me to stay put as she went over to the shop because the line was so long and I struggle with staying still. The sun was beating down on my head, so I hid behind a wall. After a few minutes some boys came over.. they were much taller than me, and maybe a year older. They told me that was their wall and shouted at me to go away - they called me "little lion" because of my hair. My dad used to call me little lion, but the boys said it in such a way that it frightened me. It made me realise how different I was, how small and weak. After a while they decided that they'd made me feel afraid enough and started to walk away. I could feel my cheeks burn, feel the humiliation and anger rise in me. How dare they? I imagined what I would have done, should have done to make them never do it again. As the anger built in me, a rock dislodged itself from the wall and zoomed towards the boy's head. He started crying, and I looked behind me to see what had made it fly at the boy, what had made it come out of the wall. But there was nothing. When I turned around the boy was talking to a woman I guessed was his mother, and my heart started beating fast. It wasn't my fault! Was it?

The lady told my mum I'd thrown the rock at her boy. My mum seemed calm and told her it couldn't be true, but after they'd left she told me no matter how angry I was or how nasty they were, I could never hurt anyone. I explained what had happened, that I was innocent. The more I denied it, the angrier my mum got. Eventually she took me home early, and I sat in the back of the car biting the inside of my cheek all the way home. I promised myself I wouldn't cry, as I had done nothing wrong. Crying felt like admitting to a crime.

I am now 10 and my mum has only got angrier over the years.

I am currently walking through the woods after my latest argument with my mum. These are so frequent now that I have a hiding place in the woods, a hollow tree that is big enough to fit two people in. I am always alone.

As I get closer to the tree I start to feel more relaxed. The twigs snapping under my feet are loud, and I adore the sound. To break things and never get in trouble for it, to shatter objects and know how it happened. I feel control, I feel strong and certain of what I am doing.

Wait. What was that? I swear I heard someone. I pause under a patch of light and make my breathing shallow, to hear better. I hear nothing, swallow and continue. Of course it was my imagination. Of course no one ventures this far other than myself.

But I hear it again. Someone talking, though it sounds like nonsense. "Stupid George. Stupid Percy. Tree pixies? How stupid am I. Stupid George. Bloody lucky I haven't gone far enough to see any muggles."

Muggles? What are they? Furthermore, who does the voice belong to? I decide to move forward and confront the voice, and I pick up a twig. God knows what I tend to do with it.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2. Hermione POV

Slowly I walk towards the voice. They're right outside my tree! My heart beats fast in my chest and my palms sweat. As I walk closer I turn the twig over in my hands. I'm trying to be quiet - the twigs snapping under my feet are no longer pleasing, they are now traitors. Every crackle sounds like explosions to me, exposing where I am. I am finally close enough to see the owner of the voice, and I am suprised.

He is tall, much taller than me - but not gangly. He is wearing a large, knitted jumper over old jeans. He has flaming red hair, like a fire - I am fascinated by it, because it seems to literally burn, dance, flicker like a real fire. His face is twisted in what I can only guess is frustration. His brow is furrowed and mouth is pulled down at the corners. His face is covered in freckles, and his eyes are a deep green.

There is no denying it. The boy is attractive. However, I do not lower my defences. In my experience the more attractive the person, the more they hate unattractive people. And I am unattractive. He is already angry… I can tell by the way he he standing, arms crossed, looking around as though he is lost. He mumbles something else and kicks the entrance to my tree.

"Hey!" I shout, stepping into sight. Instantly I regret the decision and wish I could run away. The boy is startled, and looks down at me; suddenly e looks as though he's been caught doing something he shouldn't. Maybe he knows this is my den, maybe he meant to do this, maybe he knows the boys at my school! Hermione, slow down. Not everyone is out to get you, I think.

"Oh, um, sorry. Can I help you?" He asks, looking frightened. Why would he be frightened of me?

"That's my tree you just kicked," I state, a little less sure of myself than before, my voice wavering.

"Your tree? But it's mine and George's" he says, smiling a little. Obviously he's relaxing a little, realising it's only me, a small, bushy haired, buck toothed 10 year old with a twig. What was I thinking? He is much bigger than me, and is now eyeing my weapon. "What do you plan on doing with that?" He chuckles. I now feel thoroughly ridiculous.

"Well… I don't know. I could do some serious damage, I'm not that weak, don't think I'm easy prey!" I shout, my voice rising throughout the sentence. I could hit him, hard.

"Easy prey? What are you on about? I'm not a monster. I won't hurt you," he says in a calming voice. I obviously still look defensive, as he raises his hands. "I'm Fred. Fred Weasley. I'm 12 years old, and I am not a monster," he smiles.

I lick my lips and shuffle my feet. He wants me to trust him - but how can I when everyone else hates me? What does he want? Maybe he doesn't want anything. Maybe this is my chance to make a friend. "I'm Hermione. Hermione Granger. I'm 10 years old, and I know you're not a monster," I mumble. I look up into his eyes and give a half smile, then lower my twig as he lowers his hands. I don't let go of it, however.

" So Miss Granger, what are you doing this deep in the woods?" He asks.

"I could ask you the same thing, Mr Weasley," I say, raising my eyebrows. He looks me up and down, smiling, but his eyes look like he is calculating something.

"My brothers, George and Percy, told me I could find some tree pixies in this wood. I sneaked out to try and find some to bring back for my sister, but I am now growing to think I have been tricked." He sighs.

"How awful," I say. Tree pixies? Maybe he's stupid… then after a moment, "You've got two brothers and a sister?"

"Not awful, it was a damn good trick and I'll get them back soon. Also,

I've got five brothers and one sister," he says looking exasperated when he listed their names. Bill, Charlie, Percy, him, George (his twin), Ron and Ginny. "Have you got any brothers or sisters?"

"No, I'm an only child. I wish I had a big family like you," I sigh, leaning against my tree. I throw the twig on the floor and put my hands in my pockets.

"No you don't," he says, smiling. "We all have to fight for the bathroom in the morning. I'm always arguing with my older brother, Perce. I have to look after Ginny, and Ron is always telling on me and George. Actually, scrap that, I love having a big family," He laughs. I laugh too. I can imagine his life, and I want it so dearly I feel a dull ache in my chest.

Fred leans against my tree as well, and I feel excited and happy. I've never had a friend before, this is the longest conversation I've had without being insulted or ridiculed.

"Why are you in the woods, Hermione?" He says, quietly. I sigh and look down.

"I had an argument with my mum."

"But why was it so bad you had to leave? And if you had to leave, why not go to a friend's house?" He questions, his brow furrowing.

"It's complicated," I sigh. "I always fight with my mum. And I don't exactly have… friends,"

Fred stands for a moment, looking at me. He has the calculating look in his eyes again. My heart started to beat fast - how stupid could I be? Now he knows I have no friends he'll leave. Or say something mean.

"Hermione, when I was your age, I didn't have any friends either - yeah, I know it's different. I had a big family. But now I've met new people I have amazing friends. I promise, no matter where you go or what you do, one day you'll meet people just like you. Until then, I'll be your friend." He says.

I press my lips together, and i look up at the sky. I wasn't expecting that! I'm trying very hard not to cry. I take a deep breath and I look back at him, and he looks scared.

"Did I say something wrong? I didn't mean to make you cry!" He says, searching my face, his eyes wide.

"Tha- Thankyou," I choke. I know it's stupid - but I have a friend! If Fred likes me, does that mean his family would too…?

"Listen, Hermione, I think you should go home. You need to speak to your mum and I need to prank my brothers," he says, looking around. "But I promise I'll find you again. Until then, this can be our tree, okay? If you have another argument come here and make a notch in the tree. And be careful."

"Okay." I say. Fred says goodbye, assures me once more that I'll see him again, then runs in the opposite direction of my house. Strange, I didn't know anyone lived beyond this woods.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3. Fred's POV

I walk swiftly back towards my house. It all happened so quickly! Mum always warned me not to talk to muggles, but I never thought I'd actually meet one. Wow, what a muggle. I can picture her now - a small, thin girl, with big, bushy brown hair. Deep brown eyes, slightly larger front teeth. Her skin was pale and clear, and she wore an overly large jumper. I wonder why she was wearing that? If she has no older siblings, why would she wear such old clothes? Maybe they're hand me downs from a cousin.

Oh god, have I made a mistake? No. Calm down Fred, she'll never you're a wizard, or that you go to a magic school called hogwarts. She'll only know what you tell her.

The cold is biting at my ears now, and I wish George was here. I'd at least have someone to talk to now, but I'm alone with the trees. I can see my house, and I wonder if Hermione's home. I hope she is, because it's dark now, and she's only small.

What's happened to her, to make her so defensive? What's so terrible to make her fight with her mum so badly she has to leave the house? I wish I could bring her to Hogwarts with me. Then she could meet people who are used to being different. Then she wouldn't have to go back home to her mum. She must be so lonely, living as an only child and having no friends. Only now she does, because I'll be her friend. I'm sure George will be too, and as soon as we can get away with it we'll visit her again.

I'm finally at the front door. Time to get scheming. How to get back at my brothers?

Hermione POV.

"Hermione! Hermione, you're home!" My mum yells from the living room doorway. I'm not surprised she's happy to see me back - she's always happy when I come back.

"Yes Mum," I say, looking at the clock. I was gone for way over two hours. I hug her tightly and apologise profusely, swearing I'll never go again. I feel no shame at the lie.

"My darling girl, I promise I'll get you help. Before you go back to school, we'll work out what's making these… events happen."

"Mum, it's fine. I told you, it only happens to protect me. I'm like Matilda!" I say again.

"Matilda? Who's Matilda, dear?" She asks. My mum knows who Matilda is, she used to read it to me all the time. Then I read it to her. Then I compared myself to her.

Then the book disappeared.

"She has powers, mum. She can make things fly and break and move, and she's incredibly bright!" I say. As I finish my explanation, there's a brisk rap at the door. My mum turns to look at it, and sees a strange silhouette outside.

"We will discuss this after our visitor is gone."

My mum walks over to the door, flipping her long, straight brown hair over her shoulder. She gives a fleeting glance at the mirror, checking for any imperfections, then opens the door.

"Mrs Granger?" says the tall, black haired woman at the door.

"Yes, and you are?" My mum says in a sweet voice.

"I am Professor McGonagall , and I am a teacher. I'm here to explain an amazing opportunity open to your daughter, may I come in?" She says in a stern voice that is obviously trying to sound soothing.

"Ofcourse," my mum smiles, stepping back and gesturing to the open living room door.

Fred POV.

"I'm telling you George, you'll want to meet her," I exclaim as we walk through the woods towards our tree. It's nearly the end of the holidays and I haven't been able to escape yet. This is the first time I'm going back, and will probably be the last - we leave for Hogwarts in 3 days. I feel awful because I promised I'd go back, and that was over a week ago. I need to talk to her, tell her where we're going… no. I can't tell her where, I'll just have to… to say we're going away, and hope she doesn't hate me.

"Fred, she's a muggle. I'm sure she's great, but she can never be our friend. We're too… different, and we're going away soon." George explains, hitting at plants with a stick. I stay quiet because I know it's true.

We reach our tree, and we stop. There are no marks on the outside, it looks the same as always. Hermione is nowhere in sight, and nothing looks out of the ordinary. I don't know what I expected - 2 notches in the tree marking when she'd been here before, or even her, stood outside, waiting. George moves forward and crawls into the small entrance, disappearing into our hollow tree.

"Fred," George starts.

"George, I know. I'm not in the mood."

"No, Fred, there's five lines on the bark in here," George calls. I scramble to the entrance and crawl inside. I slot next to George, our arms touching, our identical eyes staring at the marks on the wall. There are 5 lines scratched into the wood, just as George said. These were not here before. How had she argued with her mum five times already?

"George, she needs us." I say, matter of factly.

"Fred, I was thinking exactly the same." George says with a smile. We crawl out of the hollow tree without saying anything. I knew George would agree with me once he saw how badly she needed people to give her a laugh.

"Fred!"

I look up, and Hermione is stood about 10 metres away, looking at me, then at George, then back to me. She looks dumbfounded, as though she expected she had imagined me. Maybe she did believe she imagined our encounter.

"Miss Granger, a pleasure to see you again," I say, in my best impersonation of Percy, not that she knows who he is.

"Spiffing to meet you Miss Granger, my brother here has told me delightful things about you," George says next to me.

"Where have you been?" She questions, staring into my eyes.

"I'm sorry, I couldn't get away," I say. "Has something happened? 6 arguments in 2 weeks?" I say, gesturing to our tree.

She swallows and looks at the floor. After a few minutes she says "The other day we had a visitor. She's a professor from a school, and she told my mum I need to go to a… boarding school." She looks up at me, "I'm sorry."

"Don't be!" I exclaim, getting excited. Boarding school? That's like a school where you live. Like Hogwarts! Is Hermione a witch? "I'm happy you're getting away. What's the school called?"

"Hogwarts. I've never heard of it before, but it's a real place I swear," she says quickly. George shifts next to me, as if he wants to say something.

"Hermione, I go to Hogwarts!" I say, not bothering to hide the excitement in my voice.

"Really!" She exclaims, her eyes lighting up. "Are you sure it's the same one?"

"Wow Fred, you know what, there are hundreds of Hogwarts about. Very popular name you know."

"Come to think of it George -"

"I think there are so many it's hardly likely -"

"We're going to the same one -"

"What with Hogwarts being such a normal, popular name and all." George finishes.

Hermione smiles and walks towards us. "Oh, shut it," she grins. "This explains why I'm so different! All this time, I thought I was strange, but it turns out I'm special! Now I'll be going to a new school, with new people exactly like me!" She laughs, the excitement making her voice shrill. Her hair flies around her face. I wonder if it's some kind of magic, or if her hair just kind of… does it. Either way, it's brilliant. "What's it like?"

Now that I wasn't expecting. " It's fantastic," I grin.

George swoops in and saves me from having to speak. "It's magical, of course it's fantastic," he sighs, rolling his eyes. "The stairways move, we have magical feasts every day, and we have two dashing, clever, hilarious boys," he stops to gesture at us, and winks at Hermione. She laughs and bites her lip.

"What if I don't make any friends?" Hermione whispers, suddenly serious.

"Love, we'll be your friends," George says. Something stirs in my chest when he says love, though I'm not sure why - he calls all girls that.

"And if we're your friends, others will make it their personal mission to be yours too," I finish with a smile.

"I can't wait," she sighs. She sits down and picks up some grass. We sit down at the exact same time effortlessly, and all three of us pick at the grass.

Hermione POV.

The sun streams through the trees, and I stare at Fred and George. For hours they've been recounting tales of mischief, adventure and magic, making me more and more excited to go to school.

Before I found out they were going, I wasn't looking forward to Hogwarts. When Professor McGonagall told my mum and dad, their reactions were mixed. They were curious of course, and my dad seemed genuinely excited. My mum acted excited for me.

After she left, my mum voiced her worries. She said that I needed help. She said I couldn't go. My dad sat quietly, as he always does, giving me reassuring looks. When I argued back my mum shouted loudly, and told me I was dangerous. She said I was naughty, and that I wouldn't be able to control my powers, so we needed to stop them. I quickly ran upstairs, then I promised myself I would study every book I could find on the matter. By the next day my dad had persuaded my mum to let me go, as it will help me. Just not in the way she imagined. Since then she's been more sensitive.

Fred and George make me relax. They laugh so easily, but never at me. I can feel myself becoming more attached to them by the second.

Fred's POV, Hogwarts train

Where is Hermione? The train's already started, but George and I haven't found her yet.

"It's fine, Gred," George says, "She's probably found a car already, made tonnes of friends."

"I know, Feorge" I say, forcing a smile. "She's good."

Currently we're sat in a car on our own on the way to Hogwarts. We've only been moving for five minutes, but I worry about Hermione. She's so small, what if she got lost? George and I start planning our first prank of the school year, talking excitedly about stink bombs and vanishing steps and even fake wands. We plan on owning our own prank shop one day, just the two of us.

"Fred, George! I knew I'd find you eventually," Hermione's voice comes from the door. "Neville! I found a car!" I look up and see Hermione, stood in her school robes already.

"Hermione! Finally!" I say.

"Yeah, finally. Fred's been driving me nuts, worrying about you," George says, winking. I punch him on the shoulder hard, but really I don't mind. He's just joking.

"Off to Hogwarts we go!" Hermione squeals excitedly, ignoring Georges comment.

**Author's note:**

**I'm going to try and make the first few years go by quicker so we can get to the interesting stuff;)**

**Obviously I'll keep in the important things, but I'll try and make them go by quickly.**

**Hope you're having good days munchkins!:)**


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